tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post6196653126700152667..comments2024-03-28T21:13:53.845+00:00Comments on Fabled Lands: Shadow KingDave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-29769664563091701202010-04-20T09:27:42.870+01:002010-04-20T09:27:42.870+01:00Yes Andrew, Russ really is a lot more versatile an...Yes Andrew, Russ really is a lot more versatile an artist than most people would think if they're only familiar with his gamebook pics.<br /><br />Jiminy, well spotted :) As we as the obvious connotation, Sangrail is the name of one of Saki's anti-heroes, which fits because our Sangrail is a rather spoiled, selfish character to begin with:<br /><br />"Our hero is John Sangrail, Edwardian adventurer. A big man, heavy-set but agile. The kind of man whose physical presence in a room is hard to ignore. He fills a doorway, takes up more than his share of space at a bar. His boom of laughter has been heard across the lounge of many a London club. And his voice, echoing loudly from a curtained box, has been known to drown out many a performance on the West End stage. Large and loud – and impulsive. Like the time he swam the English Channel on the spur of the moment because a lady friend had asked if he would take a message to Calais. Or when he stole into the Tower of London by night and came away empty-handed – because he had merely wanted to leave his calling card tucked in among the Crown Jewels.<br /><br />"Despite his youth, Sangrail has undergone many extraordinary adventures in Africa and the Far East. He has levitated with the Dalai Lama, and used martial arts learned from an opium-addicted Shaolin master to battle pirates on the South China Sea. He has a sword cane carved from a Masai witchdoctor’s totem staff. And he knows how to use its magic as well as its blade – given time, he can hold a séance and summon the witchdoctor’s spirit to advise him.<br /><br />"His elegant clothes, insouciant manner, and soft aristocratic features suggest he’s led a pampered existence. The impression he gives on first acquaintance is of a spoiled and rather overbearing young man. It would be easy to overlook the steely gaze in those heavy-lidded eyes, and the powerful muscles that support his well-fed frame. But Sangrail’s sole weakness in fact is overconfidence. Charming to friends, he makes a dangerous enemy. Even for Dracula.<br /><br />"We have deliberately given Sangrail qualities that are not easy to like. The best and most compelling heroes in drama are not the ones with every sympathetic virtue. The extraordinary situation in which Sangrail finds himself – alone in a haunted world – is more than enough to create audience empathy. As we experience adversity and horror along with him, and as our advice subtly steers his decisions,we will grow to care about him as a well-rounded character who celebrates the foibles as well as the virtues of humanity."Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-20177588477517118462010-04-20T01:18:25.224+01:002010-04-20T01:18:25.224+01:00Wow, that's cool! Love the pix by Russ - shade...Wow, that's cool! Love the pix by Russ - shades of Ian Miller and Ralph Steadman!fantasygamebookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05240994072742026340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-44509431988786211012010-04-19T21:39:35.930+01:002010-04-19T21:39:35.930+01:00Sounds like it would be perfect material for 2000a...Sounds like it would be perfect material for 2000ad, alongside their zombie-apocalypse-1666 story "Defoe"! Does the character name "Sangrail" have special meaning by any chance...?Jiminyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03928886405446170395noreply@blogger.com